Tetang-Chusang, Under the Great Mustang umbrella.

Churpi is one of the most popular souvenirs to take back home from Chusang, Mustang. Pictured here are threads of churpis hung out in the sun to be dried.

Chusang is surrounded by huge cliffs dotted with numerous caves.

Having been a restricted area for quite some time, the march of urbanization has been slow here, and ponies, yaks, and dzos (yak-cow hybrids) are still very much used for transportation of goods.

Lying at the border with Tibet, the influence of Tibetan Buddhism is very strong in Mustang. Mustang’s culture is predominantly Tibetan, but the changes accompanying the opening up of the region to the outside world is introducing other cultures and lifestyles, too.

Chusang (3022) is a village development committee in Mustang District in the Dhawalagiri Zone of northern Nepal. It is located on the Upper Mustang trekking route, between Tangbe and Chele, about an hour’s walk north of Tangbe. It lies at the junction of the Narshing River and the Kali Gandaki. Chusang is arrived from a descent while Tetang is reached by an ascent. It is surrounded by gigantic red, orange and silver gray cliffs spotted with cave dwellings. The village consists of three different hamlets: north of the Narshing River is Tangma, to the south of it is Braga, and west of Braga, towards the Kali Gandaki, is Cikyab. It is an active farming community.

The main hydrographic feature of this region is the Kali Gandaki. Routes around the treacherous terrain wind around the Kali Gandaki and its tributaries and other seasonal flood rivers. Chusang/Tetang, much like the rest of Mustang, are regions with a strong Tibetan influence blended with Nepali culture. Still untouched and isolated it remains not fiddled with. The region is rich in Buddhist culture, similar to the area of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. It is an alternate way to experience the Tibetan culture and landscape to the tours provided by the Chinese government.

The people here, are very slowly moving towards modernization. Till a few years ago, the only way into the region was on foot; the only way to transport goods was by pony, yak or dzo (yak-cow hybrids). Life is still peaceful and serene here, and moves forward slowly like it has always done, over the years.